adminConrad Mupesa Mashonaland West Bureau
The late former Senior Assistant Commissioner Bothwell Mugariri has been declared a provincial hero and is set to be buried tomorrow.
Cde Mugariri, who was 62, passed away last Wednesday. He had been battling injuries sustained in a road accident in 2007, which left him bedridden.
Cde Mugariri was the police national spokesperson from 2000 to 2002, and once served as officer commanding Harare Province.
Zanu PF Mashonaland West had recommended national hero status for him, but the ruling party, Zanu PF, settled for provincial hero status, which was pronounced on Saturday.
The party’s Mashonaland West Province administrator, Cde Fanny Chikomba, last week described the late liberation war fighter as a true patriot who continued to serve his country diligently after independence.
He said the province was poorer without Cde Mugariri.
Family spokesperson and brother to Cde Mugariri, Mr Zacharia Mugariri, said his brother joined the liberation struggle in 1977, before joining the police force after independence and rising through the ranks to become senior assistant commissioner, a position he held until his retirement.
Cde Mugariri is survived by a wife, three children and several grandchildren.
Mourners are gathered at Hillton Farm in Banket.
Online Reporter